The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to the field of elevators, and more particularly to a multicar, ropeless elevator system and passenger guidance systems thereof.
Ropeless elevator systems, also referred to as self-propelled elevator systems, are useful in certain applications (e.g., high rise buildings) where the mass of the ropes for a roped system is prohibitive and there is a desire for multiple elevator cars to travel in a single hoistway, elevator shaft, or lane. There exist ropeless elevator systems in which a first lane is designated for upward traveling elevator cars and a second lane is designated for downward traveling elevator cars. A transfer station at each end of the lane is used to move cars horizontally between the first lane and second lane.
In conventional two button group elevator systems, hall call buttons allow users to request elevator service and go up or down in a building by selecting a destination on an operating panel located inside an elevator car. While the hall call button arrangement may be useful for many situations, larger buildings with more traffic volume may benefit from other techniques to manage passenger traffic more efficiently, such as a destination entry system. In a destination entry system, a passenger may request a desired destination on a destination entry device located outside the elevator cars. Based on the desired destination, each passenger may be assigned to a landing door (and associated elevator car) within the elevator system that most efficiently transports the passenger to a desired destination. However, in multicar elevator systems, such destination entry systems may not be possible because multiple elevator cars may service each door at a single landing, thus complicating the assignment process. That is, because multiple elevator cars may service a single landing door, with each elevator car having potentially different destination floors, assigning elevator cars or landing doors based on a desired destination may actually be variable for each door, and thus conventional systems may not provide sufficient means for assignments to users.